Bayou Battles for Vicksburg: The Swamp and River Expeditions, January 1-April 30, 1863

Timothy B. Smith's book "Bayou Battles for Vicksburg" examines Ulysses S. Grant's winter waterborne attempts to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi. He challenges the conventional wisdom of secure supply lines and a slow, steady approach, instead using a bold plan to divide his forces and confuse the enemy. The book provides detailed information on the Union's attempts to reach high ground east of the Mississippi River, including the Yazoo Pass and Steeles Bayou expeditions, Grants canal, and the Lake Providence effort.

Format: Hardback
Length: 552 pages
Publication date: 30 November 2023
Publisher: University Press of Kansas

The dawn of 1863 heralded a fresh phase in the Union's Mississippi Valley operations against Vicksburg. For the initial four months, Union attempts to reach high and dry ground east of the Mississippi River faced relentless challenges posed by high water, rendering bayou and river expeditions exceedingly difficult and testing the resilience of both the defending Confederates and the Union forces. In his comprehensive five-volume history of the Vicksburg Campaign of the US Civil War, Timothy B. Smith presents the first book-length examination of Ulysses S. Grant's winter waterborne attempts to capture the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Up to this point in the war, the accepted strategy followed the principles of the Swiss theorist Antoine-Henri Jomini, whose teachings were imparted at West Point, where commanders on both sides of the conflict received their education. Jomini placed significant emphasis on secure supply lines and a methodical, gradual, unified approach to targets like Vicksburg. However, his writings did not delve extensively into the complexities of creeks, rivers, and bayous in the subtropical swamp environment. Grant, in a daring and ultimately successful move, departed from conventional wisdom by devising a bold plan to bypass Vicksburg directly. Instead, he divided his forces, assigning them various objectives, and employed tactics such as cutting levies, flooding entire watersheds, and constructing canals to bypass strongholds, effectively confounding the enemy.

Bayou Battles for Vicksburg meticulously chronicles each of the Union's attempts to reach high ground east of the Mississippi River, including detailed insights into the Yazoo Pass and Steeles Bayou expeditions, Grants canal, and the Lake Providence effort. Smith skillfully weaves together these simultaneous Union initiatives into a chronological narrative that provides a wealth of information on the Union's ultimately successful final attempt to reach Vicksburg. This comprehensive work sheds new light on the intricate strategies and challenges faced by both sides during this pivotal period of the Civil War, offering valuable insights into the strategies and tactics employed in the campaign.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780700635665